Innovate McNeese Week

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Innovate McNeese Week

McNeese State University will host an open house from 1- 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Innovation Center on the first floor of the SEED Center as part of Innovate McNeese Week Nov. 3-6. There will be tours of the Innovation Center with the opportunity to view 3-D printing in action and try on Google Glass. Here, McNeese students watch as the state-of-the-art MakerBot Replicator creates a 3D prototype. McNeese's comprehensive innovation program encourages students from all majors to become innovative decision makers and problem solvers. From left are: Hannah Fogg, Sulphur, chemical engineering; Lacie Petticrew, Iowa, animal science; Jennifer Thibodeaux, Sulphur, psychology; Andrew LaCour, New Orleans, public relations; and Ben Jones, Jennings, mechanical engineering.

(October 31, 2014) Louisiana is celebrating its first Innovation Month in November and McNeese State University's Innovation Center, in partnership with the U.S. Economic Development Administration's University Center for Economic Development, is sponsoring Innovate McNeese Week Monday-Thursday, Nov. 3-6, in the McNeese SEED Center.

"Innovate McNeese Week is the first week-long campus-wide initiative celebrating innovation, building community partnerships and recognizing the unique contributions of faculty, staff and students," said Janet Woolman, executive director of economic development at McNeese. "The McNeese Innovation Center is leading an effort to cultivate business creativity, innovation and invention here in Southwest Louisiana."

The McNeese Innovation Center will host a series of activities for students, faculty and staff, and the community during Innovate McNeese Week. These include poster presentations showcasing innovative projects or research by students and faculty, luncheons featuring interactive sessions to demonstrate how innovation works, tours of the Innovation Center for the community with the opportunity to view 3-D printing in action, try on Google Glass, see student innovation projects including 2-D animation and green screen applications and much more, according to Woolman.

The public is invited to view poster presentations from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and to attend an Innovation Center Open House from 1-3 p.m. Thursday.

McNeese was one of two universities in the nation to first offer a minor in innovation, open to any major on campus. "The program teaches students the techniques and systems used to create, connect and commercialize unique ideas," said Woolman.

She said the program's primary purpose is to provide students with the tools necessary to identify potential new ventures, create marketable concepts, connect with potential target markets and to follow through and commercialize the product, service or activity.

"This program helps prepare McNeese students for implementing and managing innovation as a "system" to increase speed (up to six times) and decrease risk (30 to 80 percent) - saving employers significant time, energy and money," added Woolman.